Lesson 1: Sweep 1 History

Learn to use the Ring Rail and Profile Placer tools to draw a
simple ring at the desired ring size. Practice adjusting the
Profiles (also known as cross-section curves) that make up
this ring to create a tapered shank. Then, use Sweep 1 His-
tory to complete the shank.

Icon Key
Sweep 1
Ring Rail Profile Placer Cap Planar
History

Join

Step 1: Ring Rail

1. Click on the Tools menu and select the Ring Rail tool.
2. Select a Size 7 ring rail from the drop-down menu and click
on the green arrow button to place it in the viewports.

Step 2: Add to Profile Placer

1. Open the Profile Placer builder, also found in the Tools
menu.
2. Select the Ring Rail that was already placed in the
viewports, clicking on it once so that it is highlighted in
pink.
3. Click on the “In” arrow below the “Curve” Input Box in
the Profile Placer builder and the Ring Rail will appear
in the box.

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Matrix Level 1 1.1
Step 3: Profiles & VCH
You’ll notice a default domed profile appears in the viewport
on the Ring Rail. Included with the profile are a variety of
controls that will Scale, Move and Rotate the profiles. These
are called Viewport Control Handles (VCH).

Step 4: Profile Placer Menu

A series of graphics and Interactive Control Slider Bars
are also available in the Profile Placer menu for editing
capabilities.

Click on the builder Menu Graphic that represents the

dimension you wish to change (Width, shown above), and
the slider control will change to that dimension.

Step 5: Editing & Adding Profiles

1. Adjust the dimension by “clicking and dragging”
the slider bar, left-clicking on the white cube and
holding down the left mouse button.
2. Move the mouse left or right to drag the slider and
release the mouse button when the desired posi-
tion is reached. As you do this, the corresponding
VCH on the screen will turn red to identify the han-
dle currently activated.
3. After editing and positioning the first profile, you
may add more profiles by clicking on the “Add” button. You must
then click on the “Position on Curve” graphic (or VCH) to reposi-
tion the additional profile higher on the Ring Rail.

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Matrix Level 1 1.2
Step 6: Mirroring Profiles
1. With the additional profile added to the Ring Rail, click on
the “Add Mirror” button in the Profile Placer menu and an
identical profile will appear on the opposite side of the rail.
2. You can again utilize either the slider control or the VCH to
make adjustments to the height, width and location of the
top profiles. Once you have them in place, you must hit the
“Enter” key to set the profiles. The VCH on the screen will
disappear. Now, you are ready to sweep the rail.

Step 7: Sweeping the Ring

1. Click on the “Sweep 1 History” icon in the Surface menu and instruc-
tions will appear in the Command Line to “Select Rail.”
2. Click on the Ring Rail in the viewports and directional
arrows will appear on the rail.
3. The Command line will instruct you to “Select Profile.”
You must select each profile following the direction of the
arrows (in this example, in a clockwise direction).
4. When you have selected all three profiles, press “Enter”
on your keyboard. A wireframe surface will appear.

Step 8: Shade the Model

You now have a swept surface. Right-click on the Shade but-
ton and you will see a solid model in all four viewports. Right-
click the far right button to return to the wireframe display in
all viewports.

Shade Off Shade On

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Step 9: History and F6
History allows the user to make changes to many different
elements of a model and to view the results of those up-
dates instantaneously.

To change the profile, click on the profile curve to highlight

it. Next, press the “F6” key and a menu will appear. Select
the “MSR” option (Move, Scale and Rotate).
Hint: Keep F6 menu open by
clicking on the symbol next to
the “X” to pin it.
F6 Unpinned F6 Pinned

Step 10: Changing the Model

1. When MSR is selected, the VCH reappear, allowing the ability
to resize, move or change the profile shape. Make the profile
taller and wider using the VCH or the slider bar controls in the
menu.
2. When you are finished updating the profiles, press “Enter”
and the ring will automatically update (or re-sweep).
3. Change the shape of the profile; click again on the profile
curve and press “F6.” Select “MSR” from the list box.
When the VCH reappear, click on the yellow -shaped
icon near the handles. It will turn red when selected.
4. This will open the Profile Browser - a library of profile
shapes to choose from. Select a new shape by clicking on
the image with your left mouse
button. The new profile shape
will appear in the viewport. You
may again resize or position
your new profile shape. Or, simply press “Enter” to accept
the changes, and the ring will update to a new model.

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 Step 11: Selecting a Model
In order to save your model, you must first select
it. There are two methods for selecting objects
on the screen. The first is called Region Select-
ing.

1. To region select, click and drag the mouse

from the upper left-hand corner of a mod-
el, down to the lower right-hand corner of
the model to draw a selection box around it.
When using this technique, you MUST SUR-
ROUND the ENTIRE MODEL with the selec-
tion box.

The second method is called Crossing.

2. Click and drag the mouse from the upper
right-hand corner of the model down toward
the lower left-hand corner. When using this
technique, anything you cross OR TOUCH with
the selection box will be highlighted during
the selection.

Step 12: Saving Models

Save this model by using the Project Manager. To begin, select the ENTIRE
model using one of the methods described above. With the model select-
ed, click on the white “In” arrow beneath an open Job Bag.
Note: Do NOT put an object into a Job Bag that is already full (has a preview
in it), or else you will overwrite the contents of that Job Bag, and you will not
be able to get them back. Only put an object into an empty Job Bag, unless
you are POSITIVE you don’t need the contents of the Job Bag you are going
to overwrite.

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Step 13: Deleting the Geometry
1. Now, click on just the green wireframe surface of the model,
highlighting it.
2. Press Delete on your keyboard. This will leave
just the rail (rust colored) and profiles (yellow)
that you placed there earlier.

Step 14: Open Sweep

An open sweep option is also available along with the closed sweep.

1. Click on the “Sweep 1 History” button found in the Surface

menu.
3 1
2. Now, click on the ring rail to select it. Then, working in the se-
quence shown, click on each profile, working your way from
the upper-right, down and around to the upper-left of the
ring.
3. Select each one; then, refer to the Command line above the
viewports. An option is listed there named “Closed = Yes.”
Click on that option and it will change to “Closed = No.”
4. Press “Enter.” The result is an open shank.
5. When the open sweep appears, select the surface and click
2
on Cap Planar found in the Solid menu to create a solid ring.
6. Select everything and place it all in a job bag.

Before Cap Planar After Cap Planar

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Step 15: Profile Cap
Instead of using Cap Planar, use Profile Cap to cap the ends
of an open shank.

1. Click one of the open profiles at the top of the shank and
press “F6.”
2. Select “Profile Cap” from the F6 menu.
3. A capped surface will appear with a white, cone-shaped
control handle. Click and hold the handle with your left
mouse button and drag your mouse away from the end
of the shank. A round, blended cap will appear at the
end of the shank.
4. Adjust it to the length you desire and press “Enter” to
set it.
5. Select the profile on the other end of the shank, press
“F6” and choose “Profile Cap” as before. The cap will ap-
pear inverted within the shank. This is because it is go-
ing in the direction the profiles were originally selected
during the initial sweep.
6. To quickly create a cap that is a mirror image of the first,
go to the Command line and click “Flip.”
7. You may choose instead to manually adjust the cap to
your preferences using its handle.
If you decide to make any changes to the details of your
shank, such as the shape, size or location of your top pro-
files, you can do so without affecting the end caps.

Step 16: Joining

With two end caps on your shank, you now have three open
surfaces: the shank and both end caps.

1. Select everything and click the “Join” tool.

NOTE: Once surfaces are joined together, History is NO LONGER active. If you
need to make any adjustments to your shank, you must do so before you use Join.

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Matrix Level 1 1.7